Brain Damage
by cindythechef
Summary: Shawn is shot in the head while on a drugs bust and the doctors are worried he may never wake up or how extensive brain damage will be. (thanks for sticking with me through this story, sorry it took so long to complete. Hope you enjoy)
1. Chapter 1

Henry sat in a darkened room next to his only son. His son, Shawn Spencer the head Psychic of the SBPD (Why the word head is in his title he didn't know, it wasn't like there was a team of psychics, Shawn was the only one) had been shot in the head during a drugs bust. The doctors weren't sure if he was going to survive and if he did if he would ever be the same again. Henry sat vigil by his son's bed. He was determined not to leave his side until he saw those beautiful green eyes again. He sat in silence gently allowing his hands to trace the outline of his son's hand. Henry had almost fallen asleep when he heard the door open.

Detective Lassiter came into the room and sat next to Henry. Lassiter passed him a tall steaming cup of coffee and a bag with a pastry in it. Henry took both gratefully. Lassiter asked how Shawn, was doing? Henry smiled a sad smile and answered, "About the same".

Lassiter patted Henry's shoulder and said, "Shawn is one of the toughest people I know. He will wake up from this and be back to raising my blood pressure in no time."

Henry let out a chuckle, "Shawn has always had a knack at raising people's blood pressure. Damn kid, did so many foolish things growing up; I am surprised he made it this far."

Lassiter snickered, "Shawn doing something crazy and foolish, I can not believe it?" Henry smiled the first genuine smile he has had for a while thinking back to Shawn's childhood.

"Shawn from day 1 was a challenge; he had colic for the first 6 months of his life. He was always a lover though, I remember one time when Shawn was 2, I had gotten home late and fell asleep on the couch and the next morning, 2 year old Shawn covered me up with his favorite blanket, he climbed on the sofa so gently so not to wake me up and kissed me on the forehead, before going to play. I think that was the moment that I knew with out a doubt I would fight hell itself to keep this little man safe and happy. When Shawn was still in preschool he would have to spend time at the station waiting for Maddie to pick him up. He would look at crime scene boards and pick out clues after looking at the board for minutes. Clues we would miss after looking for weeks at the same board. That is when I started to help him develop his God given skills of observation and started him on his police training."

Lassiter nearly did a spit take, "You mean to tell me Spencer started his police training at 4?"

Henry smiled and said, "Well he all ready had a knack for it so I just developed his knack. Like you would if your son was a naturally good baseball player. My son was a naturally good cop."

Lassiter looked at Shawn and then back at Henry, "Wow, how do you train a 4 year old to become a cop?"

Henry scratched his chin and then said, "Well, I tried to make it a game for him. We would go to the little diner on 7th street and I would tell him to close his eyes and if he could tell me how many hats were in the room then I would reward him with a piece of pie or something. The kid never knew when or what I would ask him so he got in the habit of taking in every detail of a room almost as soon as we entered it. Do you know he got so good at detecting the small details of people that he could almost tell you their life story just by looking at them."

Lassiter was sitting shaking his head not sure how to react to these revelations about Shawn. He looked at Henry and asked, "How did Shawn do in school?"

Henry leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face with his hands, "School, was boring to Shawn. We were given the choice to let Shawn graduate at 12 but we didn't take it. His mom and I felt that he needed the experience of high school to help him to grow up and mature. But School was never a problem for him. I know you probably can't tell by how crazy Shawn always asks but Shawn has an I.Q. of nearly 200."

Lassiter about fainted at that statement, "No, no, no, you have got to be playing a joke on me or something. Where are the hidden cameras? Shawn Henry Spencer the department screw up and head bozo, started solving crimes at 4 and has a genius I.Q.?"

Henry smiled and threw up two fingers, "Scouts honor, the Shawn you see flitting around the station is really just a mask that my son wears to hide who he really is. He has never been comfortable with his intelligence or his gifts. It is easier for him to goof around and be an idiot then deal with being what he calls a freak."

Lassiter furrowed his brows, "He called himself a freak?"

Henry shook his head yes, "High school was very hard for Shawn, he tried to cut up and be the class clown but he would still get perfect grades, while not really trying at all. He was beat up at least once a week by some punk who caught on to his act. His friendship with Gus I think saved them both. Gus was always a little nerdy and Shawn was Shawn and they would watch each other's backs. Those times are why they are so close now. When they thought the whole world was against them they always had each other. Do you know if he would have shown up to graduation he would have been the Valedictorian of his class? He ran away allowing Gus that honor. You ask Shawn about it he will blow it off saying it meant more to Gus than him."

Lassiter was blown away with all the new information he just heard about Shawn. He looked at Henry and asked, "Why do you think he likes to work with the SBPD, he could be doing anything right now, making a lot more money than he is now."

Henry snickered, "Money or things never meant that much to Shawn. Don't get me wrong he likes stuff and money but they were never his driving force in doing things. The kid could charm anyone, if he was ever hungry and didn't have money he would sweet talk a waitress into giving him a burger or one of those infernal smoothies. He works with you all because he loves what he does and whom he works with. You included Detective."

Lassiter smiled, "Shawn and I don't get along all to well. If anyone, he stays for Juliet."

Henry raised an eyebrow to that comment from the detective, "Juliet is a HUGE reason for him to stay but so are you Detective. You don't take his crap, you never let him rest on his laurels you constantly challenge him and he loves that about you. He would never admit it but you are like, how can I put it? You two are like a flag on a flagpole. The flag can flap proudly and beautifully if and only if the flag has a good solid anchor to make sure that the flag doesn't fly off. You are the flagpole to Shawn. I know that he counts you right under Gus as far as friends."

They two men sat in silence for a minute. Lassiter looked at Henry, "Really? I am so mean to him, you think he really considers me a friend?"

Henry squeezed Lassiter's shoulder, "The way he sees it you aren't being mean to him you are challenging him and he loves to be challenged. Think about it Detective, if he is in some sort of trouble who does he call first? He knows that if he needs you that you will be there and I hope you realize the same from him."

Lassiter sat rubbing his hands together, "I think I learned that about Shawn during the whole Drimmer investigation. He was the only one that fought for my good name."

Another period of silence and then Lassiter spoke again, "How is Shawn really? What are the doctors saying that you aren't telling the others?"

Henry sighed, letting the held in tears finally escape from his eyes, "They are worried about extensive brain damage with Shawn. The Bullet damaged a large section of his brain, and (Henry paused to regain his composure) if he wakes up at all he will likely not be the same man he was when he was shot."

Lassiter sat back in shock, "Oh God, I didn't realize all of that. Wow. Well one thing I do know is Shawn likes to defy authority so if the doctors are saying that he is going to be severely brain damaged then I am going to bet he is going to be just fine to spite the doctors."

Henry wiped the tears from his eyes and said with a chuckle, "I hope Lassiter, I really hope so."


	2. Chapter 2

***{I have to take a minute to apologize publicly to an amazing author redwolfclaw. I unintentionally included a part of her story "Born this way" in my first chapter. I have since taken the part out of the first chapter, but I want to thank her for her grace in the matter and encourage everyone to go read that story it is really good. Thanks for taking the time to read my stories and thank you for the comments Ghee Butternaps15 I hope this next chapter is easier to follow. I went back and reread the first and totally agreed with you. Thank you all again for reading}

Lassiter left and Henry was alone again with his son. Henry took the opportunity to doze off in the hospital recliner for a while. He never let go of Shawn's hand. He thought that if he were always touching Shawn in some way that deep down his boy would know that he is not alone. That evening Juliet came to visit and brought Henry some dinner. While Henry ate Juliet took his place holding Shawn's hand.

Henry thanked Juliet for the food and coffee refill. He filled her in on the things that the doctor had said about their worry about brain damage and such.

Then he asked her, "My son loves you more than life itself and I know once he gets the courage to do so he wants to ask you to be his wife. Knowing what you know about his condition and the complications that arise will you still be there for him and love him no matter what?"

Juliet was taken aback by the question, "Mr. Spencer, Henry, I love your son and even though we haven't taken those vows yet, I am ready to love him through richer for poorer and in sickness and in health and through gun shots and kidnapping and whatever else gets thrown at us along the way. I am a cop and he is a close facsimile of a cop and you know if you are going to love someone in this profession you are going to have to be ready for the worst. Shawn is my everything and I will not turn my back on him when he needs me the most."

Henry smiled, "Good answer! That is what I was hoping you would say. I don't know what damage that Damn bullet did to him. I do know it will not keep him down for long. Shawn does not allow any circumstance or any thing dictate his life. Did you know one day he and Gus were out doing something stupid as usual and Shawn broke his right leg and when I say broke I mean bone was sticking out of the side broken. Instead of calling and ambulance this idiot, tied his jacket around his leg and drove to the hospital."

Juliet laughed, "That sounds like Shawn! I have learned when he is whining and being a baby about some injury that he is fine. When he brushes it off and tries to ignore an injury that's when I start to worry. I still wish I had made him get checked out after Drimmer pistol-whipped him. He stumbled around the station for a week after that. Then I didn't know him like I do know. Know I would have just cuffed him and made him go."

Henry said, "You know my boy is lucky to have you. You are a good person and a good detective; I couldn't pick anyone better for my boy than you. You know how to physically subdue him too, you never know when that might come in handy with him."

Juliet got up and hugged Henry, "Thank you Mr. Spencer. That means so much to me for you to say that. Shawn doesn't always act like it but he really cherishes your opinion on things. You are this super hero to him. When he talks about you, you would think he was a 4 year old talking about his Daddy. He has told me before that mending the relationship with you was the top 2 best things he has ever done. The other top thing was moving in with me."

Henry closed his eyes for a moment to stop the flow of tears from falling. "Juliet, that means the world to me to hear what you just said. I have made a lot of mistakes being his Dad. I thought for the longest time him being gone was my punishment for all those mistakes. Now I have him back with me and I love it. I hope he knows that he is my absolute everything. I look at the man he has become and my heart just wants to bust. You know I have a shoebox of every newspaper clipping Shawn was even mentioned in. I wanted him to be a cop and when he didn't do that I was disappointed but I am so proud of him now. He has made his own way in this world and he is helping so many people in the process."

Juliet smiled at Henry and then bent down and kissed Shawn's hand. "He is a remarkable guy with a 100% solve rate. 100% who has a 100% solve rate? Shawn is a one of a kind. I am so glad that he is ours.

I hate to say goodnight but I think I am going to have too. I have to be in court at 8 am tomorrow for the arraignment of the creeps that shot Shawn. Lassiter and I are going to be there to make sure no funny business goes on, Shawn deserves justice and we will make sure that he gets it."

Henry moved over to take Juliet's place at Shawn's side being sure to hug her as she got up to leave. "Justice for Shawn, I know you guys will do everything in your power see that he gets justice. I will let you know if anything changes, he is off the heavy sedations so he might wake up soon, I hope."

Juliet left promising to be by tomorrow on her lunch break to let him know how the court hearing went.

Henry took a few moments to tidy up the room and brush his teeth and get ready to spend the night with Shawn in his room. The nurses came in and did their evening check and soon the room was dimly lit and Henry settled in for sleep all the while making sure to never loose contact with his son.

The evening went quietly, around 5 in the morning the sound of Shawn's heart monitor going faster than usual woke Henry up. Shawn was thrashing around in the bed and moaning. He was having a nightmare.

Henry gently held his arms and told him that he was fine and he was in a hospital. He told him in his sternest Dad voice to calm down and wake up and look at him. Shawn listened. His movements slowly settled and then he opened his eyes and looked at Henry.

Henry was so excited to see those beautiful green eyes of his son.

He asked the bleary half conscious young man, "Hey there sleepy head, how are you feeling?" Shawn went to answer his Dad but nothing came out.


	3. Chapter 3

Shawn tried to speak again but couldn't. He looked at his father with fear in his eyes. Henry rubbed his cheek and tried to sooth his panic. Henry asked Shawn, "Just blink once for yes and two for no. Do you remember what happened to you?"

Shawn's brow scrunched up, you could tell he was going back through his memory; eventually he looked at his father with a panicked look on his face and blinked twice.

Henry patted his shoulder, "It is okay son, I can fill you in on what happened. You were taking part in a drugs bust that went wrong, terribly wrong. We were able to arrest the dealers but not before one of them shot you in the head. Honestly it is a miracle that you are alive. Do you understand?"

Shawn gently reached up and touched the bandage that surrounded his head and looked at his Dad and blinked once.

Henry smiled at his son, "That is good son, I am going to go and let the doctors know that you are awake now. I will be right back okay?"

Shawn smiled a half smile at his Dad and blinked once.

Henry raced out of the room down the hall to the nurses station and told the nurse, "Please page Shawn Spencer's doctor because he is awake. Please let him know that he can't speak but he understands simple directions and he understands what I am telling him."

The nurse smiled at Henry and told him, "Mr. Spencer, that is great news. I would LOVE to call Doctor Simms and let him know. He will be thrilled. I will be down to see him in a few minutes."

When Henry got back to Shawn's room he found Shawn starring at the door, he barely blinked and it didn't faze him when Henry walked in. He just lied there with his head pulled to the left and starring at the open door.

Henry sat down next to his son cautiously; he snapped his fingers in front of his face but nothing. He called out to Shawn but still nothing. About a minute later Shawn began to blink again and then noticed his Dad looking at him concerned. He just smiled at his Dad and offered him a wave.

Henry continued to look at his son weird. He told him, "When I came in you were starring off into space, you didn't notice me walk in. Are you okay?"

Shawn shrugged his shoulders but then pointed to his head and put his fingers together in the ASL sign for pain.

Henry asked, "Does your head hurt you now?"

Shawn blinked once for yes.

They were both startled when the door opened again. It was the nurse Henry spoke with and Dr. Simms. The nurse told Henry, "When I called Dr. Simms he was in the parking lot getting ready to walk up here. I told him he had perfect timing."

Dr. Simms moved over to the opposite side of Shawn's bed and asked Henry how Shawn has been behaving since he woke up?

Henry told the Doctor Simms, "He had a bad dream and I told him to calm down and wake up and he did. When he woke up he could not speak but I told him to blink once for yes and twice for no so I could ask him some questions. I asked if he remembered what happened to him and he did not. I went and told the nurse he was awake and when I got back to the room I found him starring off into space. He was barely blinking for over a minute then he blinked several times and then signed to me that he had a head ache."

Dr. Simms began to examine Shawn he held up his pen in front of Shawn and asked him to follow the pen with his eyes. He went to the right and left and up and down.

He then grabbed both of Shawn's hands and asked him to squeeze his hands as hard as he could.

Lastly he asked Shawn to smile as big as he could for him.

He patted Shawn on the shoulder and told him, "You did a great job. I am so thrilled to meet the conscious Shawn Spencer. I have read a lot about you in the paper. Nurse Betty here is going to change your bandages and give you some medicine and while she does that your Dad and I will be right outside your door okay?"

Shawn blinked once to let him know he understood.

Henry and Dr. Simms walked out of Shawn's room and sat in the small waiting room across the hall. Henry was first to speak, "Give it to me straight Doc how is Shawn doing?"

Dr. Simms smiled, "Well considering he was shot at point blank range in the head two days ago I think he is doing amazing. I can tell by the few tests that I gave him in his room and the fact that he cannot speak that there is some significant brain damage. But he is understanding commands and he seems aware of what we are saying so that excites me in regards to his prognosis."

Henry asked, "Well what about when I found him starring off into space when I came back into he room?"

Dr. Simms bit his lip and thought before he spoke, "Well that does worry me. It sounds like he may be suffering from silent seizures, which are when someone just zones out for a few minutes and then all of the sudden he is back. Usually the person doesn't know the seizure ever happened except they have a bad headache after one. This may not be permanent, it is possible they will go away as he heals but I am not sure. Time will tell. I am going to order a bunch of tests this afternoon to see if we can get a better idea of the damaged areas. Mr. Spencer, understand that Shawn is awake and communicating with us. To be very honest with you that is all ready a better outcome then I thought we were going to have with him. I am excited to see how well he does. Your son is definitely a fighter."

Henry got up to head back into the room, "Thank you doctor for taking such good care of Shawn. One of his coworkers yesterday told me that if you thought that he might never wake up then Shawn would wake up just to spite you. I think he was right, I have never been so happy about his rebellion before."

The doctor laughed, "Me either, I usually like patients to listen to me but in this case, I am with you, I am so glad he isn't listening."


	4. Chapter 4

Henry told the doctor good-bye. He stayed in the small waiting room and called Gus and Juliet, he told them that Shawn was now awake but has been having some complications, but nothing too serious and not to worry. He then asked them not to come till the evening because they are going to be putting Shawn through a battery of tests that afternoon.

Henry went back in to sit with his son; he told Shawn that both Juliet and Gus were thrilled to hear that he was awake and able to communicate. Shawn smiled at his Dad and then reached down and grabbed his hand and placed his hand over his eyes and forehead.

Henry asked, "Do you feel like you have a migraine son?"

He could feel Shawn's head shake yes under the weight of his hand.

Henry covered his eyes with his hand then used his thumb to gently rub his temple. Shawn let out a sigh and slowly slipped back into sleep.

That afternoon just like the doctor said, Shawn was taken for a battery of tests to see what damage that bullet did. Henry took the opportunity to head home and shower and gather some supplies.

He came back into Shawn's room and was surprised that Shawn beat him back to the room. Shawn smiled big when he saw his father.

Henry apologized for not being there when he got back, then he said, "I think you will forgive me when I show you what I brought you. I brought you a pineapple smoothie from your favorite smoothie place on the boardwalk."

Shawn's face lit up at the site of his favorite drink. Henry warned him to drink it slow to make sure his stomach can handle it.

That evening the doctor came in on his evening rounds. He sat next to Shawn's bed and began to go over the test results from earlier in the day, "Well Mr. Spencer older and Mr. Spencer younger, I have the results of the tests that we did this afternoon. It shows there are several areas of damage; one is in the speech center, which is why you have not been able to speak. The area is damaged, not destroyed so with some intensive therapy we might be able to get some speech back but I am afraid you will never have your speech back fully. The other bad news is the seizure activity you have been experiencing, I am afraid that is due to damage in other areas and I am afraid that will likely be permanent as well. I know that me telling you about two likely permanent disabilities is hard for you to take that as good news. I hope you realize when you came in, we honestly thought 'if' and it was a huge 'if' you survived you would likely be a vegetable for the rest of your life. To see you know and to see the results of the tests it is nothing short of a miracle."

Henry and Shawn sat in silence for a moment looking at each other. The doctor could see the father and son were communicating with out saying a word.

Henry then looked at the doctor and said, "Thank you Doc we both know that having Shawn here and breathing is a miracle in itself and I also know my son, and know that nothing keeps him down including these injuries. He will figure out how to beat them or live with them. I know I am biased but he is one of the most amazing men I know and he will be just fine."

Shawn looked at his father with a smile on his face and his eyes told his Dad how much he loved him. Henry just smiled back at his boy.

Dr. Simms's heart was warmed by the show of affection form father and son. He said, "I agree with you Mr. Spencer, with injuries like Shawn's the support system he has is a huge part in the effectiveness of his therapies and recovery. From what I have seen Shawn not only has you but several very close friends that will all help. I have no doubt I will see you on the front page of the paper again very soon."

The Doctor patted Shawn's shoulder and told both men that he would be by in the morning and he would order speech therapy to come by and evaluate him.

As the doctor left Lassiter, Juliet and Gus came walking in. Shawn's face lit up when he saw the three of them. He waved at them. Juliet rushed over and gave him a big kiss and Gus sat at the foot of the bed and told him how happy they were to see him awake.

Shawn just smiled at all of them holding Juliet's hand and knuckle punching Gus. He was obviously so excited to see his best friends in the world.

Then Lassiter asked, "Why aren't you saying anything Spencer, cat got your tongue?"

Henry and Shawn exchanged a glance. Henry then spoke for Shawn, "Well Detective remember I mentioned some minor complications, one of them is the bullet damaged the speech center of his brain so with some therapy he may get some speech back but he will never be like he was before. The other complication is, he has been suffering from silent seizures."

Lassiter's eyes got as big as saucers at the news, "Oh God Spencer, I am so, sorry for the 'cat got your tongue' comment. I feel like a complete heel now, please forgive me Shawn."

Shawn smiled at Lassiter and then pointed at himself and then made a heart with his hands and pointed at Lassiter.

Lassiter giggled and rolled his eyes, "Your heart hearts me? So can I take that as a I am forgiven?"

Shawn smiled with the same ornery twinkle in his eyes he always had and gave Lassiter a big thumbs up.

Lassiter patted his leg and said, "Good, I am glad."

Gus asked Henry, "What are they going to do about his speech are they going to start some therapy with him?"

Henry said, "The speech therapist will be by tomorrow to evaluate him and lay out a therapy plan for him. As far as the seizures go. They are watching them now to see how frequent they are and they will medicate him if need be."

Juliet was the next to ask a question, "What do you think this will mean for Psych and his working with the SBPD?"

Henry looked at Shawn then back at Juliet, "Well the speech we can figure out how to work around and the seizures will unfortunately keep him from driving, but with Gus as his partner, in time once he heals, I don't see why he couldn't come back to work."

Gus reached over for a knuckle punch, which Shawn gladly returned, then Gus said, "You hear that Shawn, not even a gun shot to the brain is going to keep Psych from its appointed duties." Shawn grinned and exchanged on more knuckle punch with is partner and best friend.

Henry asked the group if they were hungry? He went to the sofa in the room and brought back a cooler full of food. He laid it all out on the bed table and told everyone to dig in. The table had Jerk chicken, French fries, beans, and pineapple upside down cake, of course. The group of 5 friends sat and ate and shared laughs all evening long. Three days ago they all thought Shawn was going to die, now he was laughing and eating dinner with them like nothing ever happened. They all knew the road to recovery would be a long one but at that moment nothing mattered, except for the smile on their friends face.

A few hours later Henry noticed Shawn's smile was starting to fade and his eyes were getting tougher to keep open. He casually began to clean up the food dishes and told the group, "It is probably time to let Shawn sleep, I think he has had enough wild partying for one night."

They all agreed and gathered their things and told Shawn goodbye. As they left they hugged Henry and they all told him to call if either of them needed anything.

The room was quiet again. Henry turned all the lights out except for a tiny night light over Shawn's bed when he got himself settled in to the recliner, he reached over to grab Shawn's hand like he had done every night since his son was in the hospital. He looked at Shawn and told him, "Good night son."

Shawn smiled at his Dad and mouthed, Good night Dad and I love you.

Henry smiled and squeezed his hand, "I love you to son, good night and sweet dreams, you deserve them."


	5. Chapter 5

(Sorry it has taken me so long to update. I am at the end of my junior year at the University and I have been hit with a ton of work all due at the same time. So that had to take priority. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Poor Shawn, I just love putting him through so much crap. )

Shawn and Henry had a quiet night. The nurses woke both men up early the next morning when the new shift of nurses came on duty.

After the nurses came in and did all the poking and prodding that they needed to do, Henry gathered some supplies and helped Shawn clean up for the day full of therapists and tests.

Henry got a little ambitious with his cleaning and hit a sore place in Shawn's abdomen and Shawn made this weird guttural grunt when the area was scrubbed.

At first Henry said, "Stop your complaining this wont take long!" then as he was drying him off Henry stopped and then looked at Shawn with tears in his eyes, "You made some noise? I take it back complain again. I want to hear you again."

Shawn smiled at his dad and then managed to force out the same noise again. Both men sat there looking at each other with gigantic smiles on their face.

As Shawn made the second noise, the speech therapies came into the room unnoticed. They both jumped when she knocked on the door.

She introduced herself as Megan Depp. She took the time to shake hands with both men and then said, "I heard the noise you made a minute ago. That is really good news for the possibility of therapy helping you get some vocalizations back. From what the doctor tells me being able to speak again is unlikely, but hey it is unlikely that you are alive right now."

Henry asked Megan, "What kind of test do you want to run on Shawn and when will you know how much speech he will get back?"

Megan smiled, "Well, as far as tests go, I plan on sending a scope down his nose and ask him to try and speak. I want to see if his vocal cords are reacting at all to what he wants to say. This will tell me if the vocal cords are getting the message from the brain to move. If they are moving at all then he will have a pretty good chance of getting some verbal back but if they do not move then therapy will probably not be of much use to him."

Henry thought for a moment then said, "You heard him grunt when you came into the room, wouldn't that mean that his cords are receiving signals from his brain?"

Megan answered the worried father, "Maybe and maybe not. The grunt that you heard could have been Shawn forcing air through closed vocal cords. Let me go and get the scope and we will do the test in here and I can give you a better answer."

Megan left out of the room and Shawn and Henry were left in the room both looking at each other with worried looks on their face. Henry put Shawn's hospital gown back on him and then used the end of the towel to wipe his face, just like he did when Shawn was 5. Just like when he was five he bent down and kissed him on the forehead when he was done.

Megan came back in the room with a cart and an assistant. She sprayed some liquid in his nose and then she asked him to breath normal as she inserted the tube in the left side of his nose. Shawn reached out and grabbed Henry's hand and squeezed it tightly as Megan gently guided the tube till it had a clear view of the vocal folds.

She asked Shawn to try and tell her his name. She didn't get a response from Shawn he just laid there and stared at the ceiling. Megan got a little frightened and began to pull the tube out of his nose when Henry stopped her.

Henry, with a cracky voice said, "He is having a seizure (holding up his limp hand as proof) it will be over soon."

No sooner than he said that then Shawn started to blink really fast then his forehead and eyes screwed in pain. Henry reached over and held his big hand over his eyes and rubbed his temple with his thumbs like he did every time before when he had a silent seizure.

Henry told Shawn, "Megan here wants to know what your name is? Can you tell her your name?"

Shawn's mouth moved as he tried to say my name is Shawn Henry Spencer but nothing came out just the noise of his lips moving. Megan gently pulled the camera out seeing what she needed to see. Megan cleaned up her equipment and then gave the cart to the assistant and sent her away.

Megan stuffed her hands into her lab coat, something she does when she doesn't want to tell someone something. "Henry, Shawn, I am really sorry to say this but there was no movement in the vocal folds. So you were telling your brain to speak but the message didn't leave your brain and head to the vocal folds. I am sorry but it doesn't look like you will recover your speech. I am so sorry."

Shawn's eyes filled with tears that he willed not to fall. He bit his lips and sat there in deep thought. Henry looked at Shawn concerned over how he was taking the news.

Megan patted Shawn's leg and said again, "I am really sorry I cannot help you speak again."

Shawn smiled at Megan and motioned to her for something to write with. Megan pulled out a small pad and pen and handed it to Shawn. He wrote, "I am a Spencer, I will figure some way to get my point across. Thank you for trying."

Megan read the note and smiled a sad smile at the young man and told them both, to call if they need her and then left and walked out of the room.

When she was gone Henry looked at Shawn and said, "I am really sorry son, I know your mouth is a big part of what you do and how you talk yourself out of getting shot on a daily basis."

Shawn snickered and signed, "Well if I cant rely on my mouth I may have to start doing something I hate and carry a gun. Lord knows you prepared me to defend myself with it."

Henry scoffed at Shawn, "Prepared? Son, you are almost as good with a gun as you are with your mouth so I think that will be a good option for you."

Shawn laughed at his Dad but they both almost cried when his laughter did not have any sound to it, all you heard was the breath leaving his nose. Henry rubbed Shawn's face and just smiled at his only son.

Henry leaned over and kissed Shawn's forehead and said, "I know that loosing your voice is hard. It is hard for me too. As much as you got on my nerves sometime the thought of never hearing you yell 'DAD' again makes me sad. But not as sad as would be if I were busy planning your funeral now. I don't care what shape I have you in as long as I have you and I know Juliet and Gus feel the same way."

Shawn pulled his Dad into a hug and Henry held Shawn tightly as Shawn sobbed on his shoulder.

The hug and the tears were interrupted by a knock on the wall. It was Gus, Lassiter and Juliet.

Juliet in a panic asked, "Hey is everything ok? Why is Shawn crying? What happened?"

Shawn hurriedly wiped his eyes as Henry told the group about the discovery that morning that Shawn would not talk again.

Lassiter came over to Shawn and patted his shoulder, "I am for one kind of excited to work with you when you cant speak, maybe just maybe I will finally get a word in edge wise. Seriously, look Spencer, so you cannot talk, if that was the only thing that happens from this then its all good. You still have that mind of yours and those eyes that pick up every little detail that helps us put criminals away. "

Shawn signed to Lassiter, " I guess your right, I still know that you and Marlow had couple time last night and she made you waffles and coffee for breakfast."

Lassiter looked at Shawn, "Okay how in the _world_ could you have known that?"

Shawn just smiled and put his finger to his bandaged head and winked at Lassiter.

Gus came next to Lassiter and said, "Yup, that's my boy still being able to annoy Lassiter even while not saying a word." Both men smiled at each other and then knuckle punched.

Shawn asked Lassiter to translate what he was going to say to Juliet, "What about you Jules, if I can't speak, will you still love me?"

She looked at Shawn while he signed and then looked at Lassiter for the translation, "He wants to know if you will still love him even if he cannot speak".

Juliet shook her head and thought about her words, "Shawn Spencer, I told your Dad this and now I am going to tell you this. I LOVE you and I will stand by your side in sickness and in health, you understand me?" She pulled a lone patch of hair out of the bandages around his head and finished, "And I will love you through really bad hair cuts too."

Shawn mouthed I LOVE YOU to Juliet and then she reached down and gave him a big kiss.

Gus and Lassiter started to make some coughing noises once the kiss lasted longer than they thought it should. Juliet pulled away from the kiss and then Gus reminded them that he brought this wonderful breakfast for everyone.

The five adults laughed and ate and never once did the fact that Shawn could not speak did it stop him from getting his point across. Everyone in the room knew ASL (sign language) but Juliet. After breakfast Juliet said, "I think I may need to take an ASL course. I want to know what you're saying so if I need to smack you for it then I can."

Shawn smiled and signed, "Me?" Juliet kissed him again and said, "Yes! You! We will be back with dinner tonight after work, are there any desires you have for dinner? It is your choice, anything except Jerk Chicken."

Shawn snapped his fingers in mock disappointment. He signed, "As long as I have you guys to eat with I can eat anything. But if you are asking how about the Japanese hotdog place by the office and a pineapple smoothie."

Gus said, "DEAL! We can so bring that. Take care of yourself today buddy and ask the doc when we can spring you out of this place when you see him."

Right as he said that the Doctor came in the door, "Day after tomorrow! If no complications arise then I am going to say you can take my star patient home day after tomorrow."

The three friends smiled and waved as they headed out the door.

Once they were alone, Henry asked, "What kind of complications could keep him from going home then?"


	6. Chapter 6

-I have to apologize again for my delay in updating finals week in school can be really exhausting and I hope to get back in the swing of things soon. Thanks for reading.

(Last time on Brain Damage…)

Gus said, "DEAL! We can so bring that. Take care of yourself today buddy and ask the doc when we can spring you out of this place when you see him."

Right as he said that the Doctor came in the door, "Day after tomorrow! If no complications arise then I am going to say you can take my star patient home day after tomorrow."

The three friends smiled and waved as they headed out the door.

Once they were alone, Henry asked, "What kind of complications could keep him from going home then?"

The Doctor answered Henry, "Well, there are a few things that can happen but lets not focus on what could happen right now. If he starts to show any symptoms we will talk then. Mr. Spencer, one thing I learned about Shawn is he is one tough Son of Gun and I am not counting on anything happening."

Henry said, "Thanks Doctor, I believe Shawn will be okay too, I just worry about my boy. He is all I have left. He is the most important thing to me and I want to make sure that he is okay."

The Doctor Clapped Henry's shoulder, "I understand, I really do get some rest and we will talk again in the morning."

The rest of the evening and the night went off with out incident. The two men watched some television until the drugs they gave Shawn started to kick in. Henry noticed it was becoming a struggle for him to keep his eyes open.

Henry switched off the television and the lights. He tucked his son into bed and told him, "Sleep well, and just think in a few days I will be able to tuck you in your bed in your old room." Shawn tiredly gave his Dad the "I love you" sign and let sleep take over.

Henry sat in the darkened room thinking about what complications the doctor could have meant. Eventually Henry couldn't keep his eyes open either and he joined his son sleeping.

Around sunrise Henry was awoken by the shrill buzz of one of the alarms monitoring his son. He looked around and saw Shawn's doctor and a team of nurses running in the room. One nurse came and got Henry and escorted him outside the room.

"What the hell is happening with my son?" yelled Henry to the nurse.

The nurse gently responded, "The monitor that tells us if the pressure in his brain is getting to high, went off. He may be developing an infection and that could cause the pressure in his brain to increase. Let the doctor examine him and he will be out to talk to you soon."

After what seemed like hours the doctor came out of Shawn's room and so did Shawn's bed. The doctor asked Henry to come with him to a small waiting room off to the side.

Henry pulled away from the doctor and started to walk toward his son, "Where the Hell are they taking him? What is going on with him?"

The Doctor calmly said, "Mr. Spencer, let your son go okay. We need to take a scan of his brain and see what is going on. If you will come with me we will discuss the rest okay?"

Henry angrily nodded and followed the doctor.

They both sat down in the quiet little room decorated with two couches and a rack of old magazines. The doctor was first to speak, "Mr. Spencer, remember I told you he could go home tomorrow barring any complications? One of the complications I was worried about was infection. Shawn has had to have a drainage tube and monitor in his head since he was brought in. I was hoping to remove the tube this evening, if he continued to be stable. If this is what I have feared then Shawn has an infection in his brain and it is causing swelling. We will know more after the scans and the blood tests we did and we should be able to make a plan of action to treat him by lunch time."

Henry held his head in his hands, rubbing his balding head, "Is my boy going to be okay doc?"

The Doctor smiled a sad smile at Henry, "I am not sure, but I can tell you, we will all work as hard as we can to make sure of it okay! Listen, he is going to be in one test or another for about an hour and a half, take a walk and clear your head and get you some proper breakfast, or at least as proper as the hospital cafeteria has."

Henry got up to leave, "Thank you Doctor, I will do that. Take care of my son please!"

The Doctor patted his shoulder as he left. "I am planning on it Mr. Spencer, I am planning on it."

A few hours later the doctor and Henry were sitting around an unconscious Shawn in his room. Henry held onto Shawn's hand like it was a lifeline to his son.

The Doctor began, "We finished the testing and it was what I feared. He has developed an infection in his brain. His white blood cell count was through the roof and his brain scan came back showing some definite signs of swelling. We need to take him back into the operating room and bore another hole in his skull to alleviate some of the pressure that is building up and we need to start him on some highly potent antibiotics. We caught this quick enough, we should be able to knock the infection out in a few days."

Henry looked between the doctor and his son's still face, "Is he asleep now because of the drugs or because of the brain swelling?"

The Doctor answered, "Both, we have him pretty heavily medicated but if he wasn't he would probably not be conscious because of the pain he would be in. Mr. Spencer, I want to do the surgery in two hours and we need for you to sign the forms allowing the surgery."

Henry snapped at the doctor, "I will sign your damn forms just give my son and I a few minutes alone okay."

The doctor shook his head and walked out of the room leaving a worried father and an unconscious son.

Henry wiped his eyes with his free hand, "Damn it Shawn, you always have to make everything complicated don't you. Did you hear them; they are going to put another hole in your head, which is just what you need. You have to be okay. Do you hear me son. I just got you back in my life after way to long with out you. Please don't let this take you away from me again. I don't care if you can speak or not I just want you back. Please fight this as hard as you can son. Please. Dad needs you. I love you kiddo so much. I am sorry it took me so long to tell you that. It has always been true though. From the moment I knew you were on your way I knew there would be no one else in this world I could ever love more. You have done some amazing things in your life. You have a lot of amazing things left to do, you need to marry that cute detective and give me grandbabies to spoil."

The Doctor came back in the room, "I am sorry Mr. Spencer but we need to go."

Henry squeezed Shawn's hand, "I will be right here when you get out son. Fight hard and I love you son."

With that last goodbye Shawn was taken into surgery leaving Henry to sit in Shawn's room starring out of the window, praying all would be well with his boy.


	7. Chapter 7

The surgery seemed to take forever. Henry went between pacing the floor to reading a fishing magazine to looking out the window. Four hours after his son was taken into surgery the doctor came into the room to find Henry.

As soon as Henry saw the doctor he jumped up and almost yelled, "How is Shawn?"

The Doctor asked, "Henry, lets sit down and talk."

Henry agitated now said, "Doctor what the hell is going on with Shawn? Why did the surgery take so long? Why isn't he back in the room?"

The Doctor looked at Henry, "Sit please and I will explain okay. (Henry sat down reluctantly) Shawn had some troubles in surgery. He went into full cardiac arrest. We worked for a long time to revive him."

Henry looked at the doctor with eyes wide as saucers and red with tears, "Oh God no, Oh God are you telling me my son is dead?"

The Doctor said, "Mr. Spencer please, you have to let me finish. We worked for a while to get him back and we managed to finally get his heart beating again but we had to intubate him. He will be back here in his room soon but he is going to be hooked up to a breathing machine and he will have a bunch of scary tubes sticking out of his head draining fluid and monitoring pressure. Mr. Spencer, Henry, Shawn has taken a dangerous turn for the worse. We are going to do everything humanly possible to help him but I just want you to be emotionally prepared. He may not make it out of this. I am so sorry."

Henry sat with a look of disbelief on his face, "Last night you told me that I might be able to take him home tomorrow and now your telling me he may not live until tomorrow?"

The Doctor sighed and said, "Yes that is what I am saying. The complications Shawn is experiencing are rare. We were looking for them but hoping beyond hope that they wouldn't happen. Again, I am so sorry. Usually the ICU is family only but in Shawn's case, I know he has some wonderful friends that will want to say their goodbyes to him just in case. Tonight I cleared it for Shawn to have as many visitors as you want."

Henry now with tears in his eyes, "Thank you Doctor, I know his friends will want to see him. Wait did you say they would want to say their goodbyes to him? Doc, have you given up hope on my son surviving?"

The Doctor rubbed his hands over his face, "No, of course not. I learned when he was brought in not to underestimate Shawn. That was a poor choice of words. I just want everyone to be made aware of the possibilities."

Henry said, "Listen doc if you want to talk possibilities, you could go into the hall and a light fixture could hit you on the head and you could die. Should I tell you my goodbyes before you leave the room?"

The Doctor answered a little annoyed, "Mr. Spencer this is a completely different situation. I am aware we are not guaranteed a tomorrow but I want you all to be informed about the very real possibility of Shawn not making it to see tomorrow."

Henry looked up and noticed Shawn's bed being brought back into the little room. He looked at the doctor and then back at his son, "Relax Doc, I know the possibilities but I am going to focus on the hope that my son will survive and thrive after this."

The doctor patted Henry on the shoulder and then went to help the nurses get all the equipment set up in the room.

Henry stood up and walked into the waiting room across the hall and began the difficult task at hand. Calling people and letting them know what is going on.

First call was Gus,

_Gus: Hello this is Burton Guster, how may I help you with your pharmaceutical needs today?_

_Henry: Gus it is Henry, I need you to come to the hospital after work. Shawn has had some complications and the doctors are worried he may not make it through the night. They gave special permission for you and Juliet to be here._

_Gus; Oh God! I thought he was doing better._

_Henry: He developed another infection over night and they had to place another borehole in his head just a few hours ago. _

_Gus: I will be there as soon as I can. Do you want me to call Juliet?_

_Henry: No that is ok, I think that I need to do that myself._

_Gus: OK I will see you soon Mr. Spencer._

Next call was to Juliet:

_Detective O'Hara's desk this is Detective Lassiter._

_Henry: Lassiter, this is Henry. Shawn has taken a turn for the worse and they aren't sure that he is going to survive the night. We have special permission for you and Juliet to come up and see him tonight. Can you bring Juliet up to say her goodbyes to Shawn?_

_Lassiter: Wait a minute say her goodbyes? He was supposed to come home tomorrow and now we need to say our goodbyes?_

_Henry: I still believe he is going to pull through this. Last night he developed an infection and the pressure in his brain sky rocketed and they had to take him back to surgery today to put another hole in his head. The doctor wanted me to prepare everyone for the worst. But I am still holding on to hope. I cant loose my son. I just cant. _

_Lassiter: We will be there shortly. Henry, listen to me. I know Shawn is one stubborn headstrong man if anyone can prove the doctors wrong he can. _

_Henry: Thank you Lassiter, I believe he is going to make the doctors eat their words. See you guys soon. _

Last Call is the one he is dreading the most, Maddie. He dialed her number and when she picked up he started from the beginning and told her everything. Madeline was in tears. She told Henry that she was in Japan at a conference and she could rush back but it would be two days travel and she would be out of communication. She opted to stay there and wait for a phone call to hear how he does.

Henry was on the phone for what seemed like an hour. He came out of the little room and just about ran into Lassiter, Juliet and Gus walking down the hall.

Henry saw the three friends and wrapped them all up in a huge hug, "Lets all go see Shawn."


	8. Chapter 8

Juliet, Gus and Lassiter were taken aback by Henry's hug. When they saw his face, the gravity of Shawn's condition hit them like a ton of bricks. Henry motioned them to follow him and all four of them took a seat around Shawn's bed.

Shawn was unconscious with tubes sticking out all over and his head was bandaged. Henry quipped that Shawn would probably have a heart attack if he saw the state of his hair or lack there of. After that quip though the room was silent for sometime.

What do you say? How do you say goodbye to a lover or a friend that has been closer than a brother or to a son. There is no script to go by no standard way to tell someone who you can not imagine life without goodbye.

Juliet sat at the head of his bed gently rubbing her thumb over his cheek. She started to just talk sweetly to him. She wasn't telling him goodbye but she was telling him how much she loved him and how her life was made perfect when she took his stool in the restaurant all those years ago.

She kept gently rubbing his cheek when Lassiter picked up on the conversation. "Yeah, Spencer what has it been 7 years since I tried to arrest you? I spent a lot of years hating you and jealous of you but the only thing you ever did was be my friend. I never really had friends. No one could get past my rather strong and disciplined personality. Not you Spencer, you were like a Virus, nothing I did would make you go away. I thought eventually you would leave on your own but you stuck with me. Thanks for sticking with me Spencer."

The four were quickly going from a few tears to full on crying. This crazy mess of a man is the glue that held all four of these lives together.

Henry went next, "I called your mother and told her about you going and getting yourself hurt. She is worried sick and she wants you to call her when you wake up. Notice I said when, young man, the doctors are worried that this latest infection will be more than your brain can handle. I think they don't know the same Shawn that I know. I am so proud to have you as my son. I hope you know that. I look forward to thumbing my nose at the doctors when you get better and prove them wrong. I love you son."

Henry laid his head down onto Shawn's hand to hide his tears while Gus took his turn to speak. "Shawn, you have always been my best friend. We have had so many adventures together and so many wild times together. You never let me stay in my shell you always pushed me to try new things. Like Mexico, I guess I can finally spill what happen when we went to Mexico."

That got everyone's attention they all looked up at Gus waiting to finally hear about their epic trip south of the border when something amazing happened. There was this very soft and very rough sounding, "Come on son."

The four of them looked toward Shawn with unbelief and sure enough two very tired and sad looking eyes greeted them. Henry yelled, "Shawn, you spoke?"

Shawn slowly rolled his head toward his Dad and he smiled at the old mans astonishment, "Love you Dad".

Henry couldn't smile bigger if he tried, "Oh God son those three words are the best words ever spoken to me." He reached down and gently embraced his only son.

The Doctor on call came in with Lassiter within just a few minutes. The Doctor said, "Well, well Mr. Spencer it looks like you are trying to make us doctors out to be liars again. GOOD!"

Henry looked at the doctor with the largest smile still plastered on his face. "He spoke to me, Doc, he actually spoke words to me. I thought I would never hear the amazing sound of my sons voice again."

The Doctor looked at Henry confused, "Mr. Spencer, there is no way he could have spoken to you that part of his brain was too far damaged. You must be mistaken"

Shawn frowned, "Dad not lying"

The Doctor just about fainted, "Say it again Shawn!"

Shawn frowned harder, "No lie" is all he could get out but that was enough to send the doctor out to call his colleagues.

Shawn huffed at the doctor running out to call all of his doctor buddies. He looked at his Dad and struggled but said, "Dad, love"

Henry laughed, "Dad loves Shawn." He bent over and kissed Shawn on the forehead.

Lassiter smiled (I know right he smiled), "See Henry I always knew Shawn was too much of a pain in the ass to do what his doctors said he would do. He likes to keep us all guessing."

Shawn smiled up at Lassiter and gave him thumbs up and tried to say Lassie but broke out into a coughing fit. Henry grabbed a cup of water and let Shawn take a small sip of it.

Then he told Shawn, "As much as I adore hearing your amazing voice again, give it a rest for a bit okay son. I have a feeling a bunch of white coats will be coming in soon to have you speak to them so rest that voice okay. Matter off fact you really look exhausted why don't you sleep for a bit. None of us are leaving."

The others nodded and confirmed that no one is going anywhere so Shawn smiled and decided to close his eyes and get some more rest.

Once they thought Shawn was back to sleep Juliet asked Gus, "So Gus what happened in Mexico, you were going to tell us before Shawn woke up."

Gus started to speak but he was interrupted by a grunt from the sleeping man in the bed. They all laughed at the noise and Henry said, "I guess Shawn wants whatever happened in Mexico to stay in Mexico."

Two months later:

It was the first time Shawn was going to visit the SPBD since his injury. After he woke up that night and started to speak he went through test after test to try and find a reason for his speech to return at least partly.

He had a really hard time speaking most of his verbal interaction had to be one or two words at a time but that was okay. He was speaking and that was an absolute miracle.

The doctors ended up saying that his partial speech return was due to his exceptionally unique brain. One of the doctors told Henry; "It is almost like Shan's brain is just wired differently then the rest of us." Henry laughed and told that doctor that never a truer phrase had ever been spoken.

Henry was so nervous about how his son was going to do back at the station. He did okay one on one but in groups he would get frustrated by not being able to verbally keep up with the group. The SPBD was a really big group of people.

The two men got to the front door of the SBPD, Shawn had a hat on because his hair was still a disaster from all those brain surgeries and he was walking with a cane just to help with his balance.

Father and Son looked at each other and they both took a deep breath and pushed open the doors of the station. Just as Henry feared Shawn was almost tackled by the group of well-wishers and people that wanted to welcome him back.

Shawn smiled at all of the well-wishers and sharing silly handshakes and high fives with some people. But he intentionally never said a word. Soon he heard a familiar gruff voice telling everyone to get back to work when he saw who was attached to the voice he quietly said, "Lassie!"

Lassiter smiled at the young man in front of him. Shawn was not back to the exuberant ball of energy that he usually was and Lassiter knew that even if Shawn did not.

Lassiter put his arm around Shawn's shoulders and lead him to a small desk in the corner that they set up just for Shawn. He whispered to him, "After an hour of work I want you to go home do you hear me?"

He forcefully sat him down in the chair and showed him the files he needed to look at and reminded him of his time frame.

Shawn settled into the desk and noticed a card on top of the folders. He opened the card and smiled when he saw a Lassie dog on the front cover. He opened it and read the note inside, "I am so glad to have you back working with us. You are a walking miracle that I am glad to call a friend. Now don't be a pain in the ass and mention this card or stay past an hour. I would hate to have to cuff you and haul you home in shackles but I will if you make me. Your friend 'Lassie'"

Shawn closed up the card and slipped it into the drawer of the desk and opened his first file. At the end of the hour he got up to leave and was met by the chief who was finally able to come and say hi to her favorite consultant.

The Chief gave Shawn a hug and then asked how he did on his first trip back to work. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Meh". He waved at the chief and met his Dad at the door and then left to head home to get some rest that he could feel he needed.

The Chief gathered the files he was working on and noticed a sticky note on not one but all 30 of the folders that he was given. All with who did the crimes in the folders and how the cops could find the evidence to convict them.

The Chief sat looking at the files and smiled while shaking her head. She whispered, "It is good to have you back Mr. Spencer, we sure did miss you."


End file.
